Buoy mooring device

ABSTRACT

A buoy mooring device comprising a counterweighted frame slidable along a cable which extends from anchor to buoy. The counterweight and frame travel on the cable as the water level rises and falls permitting the distance between the anchor and the buoy to be varied while the buoy is retained in a stabilized, unsubmerged position.

United States Patent [191 Rager BUOY MOORING DEVICE [7 6] Inventor: Charles E. Rager, 214 S. Oak St.,

Clarksville, Ind. 47130 [22] Filed: Oct. 19, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 298,964

a Related U.S. Application Data [63] Continuation of Ser. No. 75,008, Sept. 24, 1970,

abandoned.

[52] U.S. Cl. 9/8 R, 114/230 [51] Int. Cl B63b 21/52 [58] Field of Search 9/8 P, 8 R, 9; 114/230, 206 R [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,758,911 5/1930 Hamilton 114/206 R Dec. 4, 1973 2,186,606 1/1940 Hutchinson 114/230 3,001,371 9/1961 Gilmore 114/230 3,425,069 2/ 1969 Christians 9/8 R 3,430,597 3/1969 Zunderdorf 114/230 Primary Examiner-George E. A. l-lalvosa Assistant ExaminerGregory W. OConnor Attorney-Charles K. Wright, Jr. et al.

[5 7] ABSTRACT A buoy mooring device comprising a counterweighted frame slidable along a cable which extends from anchor to buoy. The counterweight and frame travel on the cable as the water level rises and falls permitting the distance between the anchor and the buoy to be varied while the buoy is retained in a stabilized, unsubmerged position.

4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures I PAIFNIEUHH: 4191s 3.775787 SHEET 10F 2 INVENTOR.

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CHARLES E. RAGER c. Mm, \\\*Q\ Y ATTORNEY mental purposes, without" the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The invention has utility wherever buoys or floats are desired to mark a location in a body of water. The invention has particularly great value in flood control reservoirs where wide ranges of water levels are encountered. I

2. Description of the Prior Art Buoy; mooring systems most commonly used today are variations of the type illustrated in US. Pat. No. 3,191,202 consisting primarily of an anchor attached to abuoy by a cable or mooring line. Buoys of this type either are submerged during water rises or are lost 7 revolves only when the float ascends to thesurface of the water and therefore if the water level recedes the mooring line will not be re-wound leaving the buoy free to drift. Adding structure such as counterweights and springs to the reel type device to re-wind the moring line as water recedes, would be costly and would increase the likelihood of failure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Thebuoy mooring device comprises a metal frame having four guide sheaves on one side and a cable guide with a counterweight on the other, a pulley with a swivel hook for attachment to the bottom of the buoy, and an anchor. A mooring line extends from the anchor up through the sheaves of the frame, through the pulley, back down through the cable guide on the other side of the frame, and is attached to the counterweight. As the water level rises, the buoyant force on the buoy causes the frame to rise increasing the distance between the frame and the anchor. The buoy will stay afloat until the frame reaches the pulley at the bottom of the float. This permits the buoy to remain afloat despite a fluctuating water level since the water level may be twice as high as normal before the buoy will be submerged.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a buoy mooring device that will allow the buoy to remain afloat despite a greatly fluctuating water level.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an operable mooring device that will reduce the likelihood of failure and loss of equipment.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide an inexpensive yet durable mooring device requiring relatively no maintenance.

Still another object of the invention is to. provide a buoy mooring device employing means to play out cable or take up excess cable in such a manner that the cable does not become intertwined or twisted up.

A further object of the invention is to provide a buoy mooring device which can be quickly, yet securely, attached to a buoy and planted in place.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an elevational viewof the mooring frame and pulley;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the horizontal members taken along line 2-2;

FIG. 3 shows the mooring device attached to a buoy with the frame near the anchor; and 7 FIG. 4 shows the device with the frame near the buoy as caused by a higher water level thanin FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF'THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG'. I a metal frame 10 has a pair of longitudinal members 11 secured together by metal straps 12. Longitudinal members 11 each have a hooked portion 13 (FIG. 2) forming a cable guide 14 on one end and a biased member 15 rigidly secured on the other. Two cooperating sheaves 16 with plastic bearings (not shown) are secured between each longitudinal member 11 and accompanying member 15. The frame 10 may be secured together by bolts 17, or by welding or other suitable means.-

Other parts of the system include a suitable anchor 23(FIG. 3), a pulley 24 with-aswivel clamp 18 for attachment to the base of the buoy l9, and a counterweight 20 of greater diameter than the cable guide 14.

A mooring line 21 which may be a cable, nylon rope or other suitable material, is secured to the anchor and threaded up through the two sets of cooperating sheaves 16, through the pulley 24 and back through the cable guides.14 of the longitudinal members 11. where it is then secured to the counterweight 20. A'cable clamp 22 is attached to the cable 21 directly above where the cable 21 passesthrough the lower of the cable guides 14. The purpose of the clamp 22 is to prevent the counterweight 20 fromsinking without. the frame 10 rolling down the cable2l passing through the sheaves 1 6.- v 7 It can readily be seen that during high water elevations, the pull of the buoy 19 will cause the frame 10 and counterweight 20 toroll up' the length-of the cable 7 21 until a balance is reached. With the fall of water, the frame 10 and counterweight 20 will roll down the cable length thus storing the excess cable 21. The weight of the counterweight is varied to accommodate buoys, anchors and cables of different sizes.

The frame 10 serves to keep the cable 21 from becoming intertwined while the swivel clamp 18 prevents the cable 21 from becoming twisted.

While in some combinations the frame 10 might be heavy enough to serve. as a counterweight with the cable 21 attached to the lower of the cable guides 14, the addition of the counterweight 20 facilitates the operation by permitting the frame to be used with systems of different sizes.

The above-described buoy mooring device has particular utility with a buoy to be used in a flood control reservoir which is subjected to wide ranges of water elevation since the reservoir is designed to collect and store water during periods of heavy rainfall and run-off, and then gradually release the collected water to avoid or mitigate downstream flooding. The device prevents the buoy from being submerged in high water and thus unobservable to reservoir users, and aids in preventing the eventual loss of the equipment if the pressuresbecome great enough to snap the cable or uproot the anchor.

I claim:

l. A buoy mooring system comprising:

a. a pulley adapted to be engaged by a buoy;

b. a frame below said pulley comprising:

1. upper and lower horizontal members,

2. vertical support members connecting said upper and lower horizontal members,

3. sheaves at one extremity of said horizontal members for guiding a mooring line as it extends from an anchor to said pulley, and

4. receiving means located at the other extremity of said horizontal members for guiding a mooring line as it extends from said pulley to a counterweight; w

c. an anchor below said frame;

d. a counterweight; and I e. a mooring line, secured to said anchor, extending upward through said frame and said pulley, and

downward through said frame where said mooring line is secured to said counterweight.

2. A buoy mooring system as recited in claim 1, wherein said system has a clamp attached to said mooring line above and proximate to said lower horizontal member to prevent said mooring line from passing down through said lower receiving means after said counterweight is positioned below and proximate to said lower horizontal receiving means.

3. A frame adapted for use in a buoy mooring system comprising:

a. upper and lower horizontal members;

0. pairs of adjacent, horizontally aligned, co-acting sheaves disposed in vertical alignment and attached at one extremity of said horizontal members for guiding a vertically disposed mooring line; and

d. receiving means located at the other extremity of said horizontal members for receiving a vertically disposed mooring line.

4. A buoy mooring system comprising:

a. a pulley adapted to be engaged by a buoy;

b. a frame below said pulley, wherein said frame has mutually spaced horizontal members separated by members normally disposed to said horizontal members, said horizontal members projecting beyond the juncture of said normally disposed and said horizontal members and pairs of adjacent, horizontally aligned, co-acting sheaves disposed in vertical alignment and attached adjacent a first projecting end of said horizontal members for guiding a mooring line upward from an anchor to said pulley, said mooring line passing between said pairs of sheaves and in contact therewith and wherein said frame has means located at the far extremity of said horizontal members of said frame from where said pairs of adjacent, horizontally aligned, co-acting sheaves are attached, for receiving a mooring line;

0. an anchor below said frame; and

d. a mooring line, secured to said anchor, extending upward through said frame, between said pairs of horizontally aligned, co-acting sheaves, through said pulley, and downward to said frame where said mooring line is secured. 

1. A buoy mooring system comprising: a. a pulley adapted to be engaged by a buoy; b. a frame below said pulley comprising:
 1. upper and lower horizontal members,
 2. vertical support members connecting said upper and lower horizontal members,
 3. sheaves at one extremity of said horizontal members for guiding a mooring line as it extends from an anchor to said pulley, and
 4. receiving means located at the other extremity of said horizontal members for guiding a mooring line as it extends from said pulley to a counTerweight; c. an anchor below said frame; d. a counterweight; and e. a mooring line, secured to said anchor, extending upward through said frame and said pulley, and downward through said frame where said mooring line is secured to said counterweight.
 2. vertical support members connecting said upper and lower horizontal members,
 2. A buoy mooring system as recited in claim 1, wherein said system has a clamp attached to said mooring line above and proximate to said lower horizontal member to prevent said mooring line from passing down through said lower receiving means after said counterweight is positioned below and proximate to said lower horizontal receiving means.
 3. A frame adapted for use in a buoy mooring system comprising: a. upper and lower horizontal members; b. vertical support members connecting said upper and lower horizontal support members; c. pairs of adjacent, horizontally aligned, co-acting sheaves disposed in vertical alignment and attached at one extremity of said horizontal members for guiding a vertically disposed mooring line; and d. receiving means located at the other extremity of said horizontal members for receiving a vertically disposed mooring line.
 3. sheaves at one extremity of said horizontal members for guiding a mooring line as it extends from an anchor to said pulley, and
 4. receiving means located at the other extremity of said horizontal members for guiding a mooring line as it extends from said pulley to a counTerweight; c. an anchor below said frame; d. a counterweight; and e. a mooring line, secured to said anchor, extending upward through said frame and said pulley, and downward through said frame where said mooring line is secured to said counterweight.
 4. A buoy mooring system comprising: a. a pulley adapted to be engaged by a buoy; b. a frame below said pulley, wherein said frame has mutually spaced horizontal members separated by members normally disposed to said horizontal members, said horizontal members projecting beyond the juncture of said normally disposed and said horizontal members and pairs of adjacent, horizontally aligned, co-acting sheaves disposed in vertical alignment and attached adjacent a first projecting end of said horizontal members for guiding a mooring line upward from an anchor to said pulley, said mooring line passing between said pairs of sheaves and in contact therewith and wherein said frame has means located at the far extremity of said horizontal members of said frame from where said pairs of adjacent, horizontally aligned, co-acting sheaves are attached, for receiving a mooring line; c. an anchor below said frame; and d. a mooring line, secured to said anchor, extending upward through said frame, between said pairs of horizontally aligned, co-acting sheaves, through said pulley, and downward to said frame where said mooring line is secured. 